Fire And Ice 3: Divided We Fall
by CaptainJayfeather29
Summary: A tom who revealed a horrible secret. A warrior who is only beginning to live with the truth. A medicine cat apprentice who can't speak. A warrior apprentice having an identity crisis. Two she-cats trying to solve the mystery surrounding their father. They don't know it yet, but the fate of the Clans is resting on their shoulders.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_I died!_

Brambleblaze unsheathed his claws and ripped into the ground, letting out a cry of frustration. They really had ended his life. _That stupid, fox-brained fleabag-_

"Brambleblaze?" A voice asked. The tom turned around, almost smacking into another tom. He regained his footing, his eyes focusing on the other cat. This tom had starry black fur, and his blue eyes burned into Brambleblaze's brown. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you me-" He stopped, looking around at the trees. Then he realized.

This was ScarClan's territory. But it had been thundering when he died, and all the trees had been burnt from the fire. The sky was clear now, and the trees were full and green. "This isn't StarClan!"

"Yeah, no kidding." The black cat spat.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mistystone. I was SunClan's-"

"I know." Brambleblaze looked up at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud. _How long has it been since I died? Why didn't I wake up right away?_

Mistystone seemed to read his thoughts. "You died nine moons ago. At the exact same moment that I fell asleep on sunningrock in StarClan's hunting grounds. I woke up apparently two moons later in the hollow of the Great Tree. I have no idea what happened."

"Why aren't we in StarClan?"

Mistystone shook his head. "Ghosts get sent back to the world when there is a task to be done."

"So why are we here?"

"I don't know, okay!" Mistystone drew back his lips. "All I know is that we have to find a way back."

"How do we do that?" Brambleblaze asked.

Mistystone was silent for a heartbeat. "We need to find out why we were sent back." He looked around the forest.

"Wait."

"What?"

"How did you know you woke up two moons later? It could've been one day."

Mistystone's ears flew up. "That's it! We have to find the SkyClan ghosts!"

"The… what?" Brambleblaze asked as Mistystone turned and charged up ScarClan territory.

"SkyClan cats live in the sky." Mistystone explained as Brambleblaze caught up with him. "So we need to get there!"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Can I have some?_ Bubblekit signed with her tail as Thornhaze picked a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile. _I haven't eaten since sunrise!_

"None of us have." Thornhaze answered. "Zigkit, you want some too?"

Zigkit looked down at themself, remembering how their stomach had been rumbling not that long ago. "Okay!" They ran over to their sister and Thornhaze.

_Have some!_ Bubblekit nudged a piece of squirrel to them. Again, their stomach rumbled. Without hesitation, they dove into the prey.

"This is the best prey I've ever had!" Zigkit exclaimed as the sweet flesh broke between their teeth. They had only been alive for six moons and-

_When are we going to become apprentices?_ Bubblekit asked. _We're six moons old._ Zigkit's sister read their mind.

"Yeah, when?"

"You should talk to Jaystar about that." Thornhaze answered.

"Why don't we?" Zigkit asked. They looked at Bubblekit, who looked back.

_Let's go right now!_ She said. Zigkit dropped everything they were doing and dashed towards highledge. Bubblekit did the same. Since they were both so small, it was far away.

_We can make it._ Zigkit thought.

"Wait!" Cloudstream's voice followed the two kits as they started to climb the pile of stones. "What are you doing?" She asked. Zigkit couldn't see their mother, but her voice was loud. Frantically, they tried to climb faster.

"I said," Cloudstream grabbed Zigkit by the scruff, "What are you doing?"

"We're going to ask Jaystar if we can be apprentices." Zigkit explained as they hung helplessly in their mother's teeth. After a moment, she set them on the ground.

Cloudstream sighed. "Let me do it." She leaped onto highledge and disappeared into the leader's den. Bubblekit and Zigkit watched, just sitting there.

# # #

"From now until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Zigpaw. I trust Rubblenight to mentor you."

The cream cat ran over to their mentor, nuzzling the large gray tom on the nose.

"We're going to have fun." He told them as they pulled away. "First-"

"Bubblekit, step forward." Jaystar interrupted. The tiny she-kit bounced to the elevated rock in the center of the camp.

"From now until you receive your medicine cat name, you will be known as Bubblepaw and Thornhaze will mentor you."

Zigpaw watched their sister run to Thornhaze, the same way they had gone to Rubblenight.

"As I was saying," The warrior made Zigpaw snap out of their thoughts, "First, I'm going to show you how to treat the elder's ticks."

Zigpaw's spirits dropped. Didn't new apprentices go on a tour of the territory? _Maybe he's just nervous._ They tried to convince themself. _I'm sure I'll know every inch of the Valley in no time._

"When do we start?" They asked.

"Are you okay to do it right now?" Rubblenight asked.

"I was ready to be an apprentice the moment I was born." Zigpaw announced. They lifted their chin high.

"Okay. Let's go get some mouse bile from Thornhaze and Bubblepaw." The gray warrior started towards the front of camp, where the medicine den was. Zigpaw eagerly followed.

_Everything's going to be fine._


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"But, I mean, your eyes are gray." Birchmuzzle told her sister. "Midnightfall doesn't have gray eyes, her eyes are green like mine. So our father must have your eyes."

Risingice groaned. All her sister wanted to talk about this entire hunting trip was their father. What she didn't understand was why Birchmuzzle was so obsessed all of a sudden. They'd always known that their father wasn't Clanborn, and he abandoned their mother shortly after they were born. But that's all Midnightfall ever told them, and that's all they ever needed to know. But in the past quarter moon, Birchmuzzle had been following her mother like a dog to a twoleg, constantly asking the MarshClan deputy questions.

"Can you be quiet?" Risingice snapped. "You're going to scare away all the prey! It only just turned newleaf and the Clan needs all the prey it can get." She lifted her tail, stomping away from Birchmuzzle.

"Can we just go back to camp?" The white she-cat asked. We aren't finding anything and this isn't an official patrol. Plus, I'm cold."

Risingice stopped abruptly. "Fine." She turned around and started towards camp, Birchmuzzle on her heels. "Don't talk to me, please."

Surprisingly, they made it all the way to camp without a word, and Risingice was feeling better as she ducked under the needles of two pine trees and emerged into the clearing. She took a deep whiff of the air. She had always loved how MarshClan's camp was caves dug between the roots of trees, where they could be warm. SunClan just lived _on_ the trees, and how they got a good night's sleep was beyond her. She couldn't imagine life without her cozy corner of the warrior's den, where she could curl up and have dirt cushion her on all her sides. Yawning, Risingice padded towards the warriors' cave.

"Hello." Tricklepaws greeted her as she skidded down the tunnel. "Did you catch anything?"

"No." Risingice sighed, curling her paws underneath her as she settled down in her nest. "Birchmuzzle scared all the prey away with her chattering."

"That's like her." Tricklepaws pulled old bedding out of his nest and piled it up against the wall. "Sometimes I wonder how she catches anything."

Risingice let out a purr off amusement. "You and me both."

"Maybe I can come next time. I'm quieter than her."

"Are you sure about that?" A smile tugged at her lips. "You squeal like a twoleg kit in your sleep."

"I have dreams, okay!"

Risingice rolled her eyes. _Tomcats._

# # #

"Risingice!" Birchmuzzle's half-whisper-half-yell made the she-cat's eyes flick open. "Risingice!"

"What?" She looked towards the tunnel, past her sister, to see moonlight still shining down into the den. "It's too early for patrol!"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." Birchmuzzle shook her head. "I need you to follow me."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Sighing, Risingice rose to her paws and followed Birchmuzzle out into the open air. As soon as she was in the clearing, the white-and-black warrior scanned the area. Movement caught her eye on the far side of camp.

"What's that?" She asked, unsheathing her claws.

"Follow." Birchmuzzle swished her tail. Risingice followed, caution in every step.

Soon enough, they had gotten to the spot where the movement was in the trees. Risingice stared into the black of the forest, an old kit fear of the dark bubbling up inside her.

"Maple." Birchmuzzle whispered.

"What did you say?" Risingice asked, staring at her sister.

"Maple!" She said louder. "I brought my sister!"

A white she-cat with cream patches stepped out of the bushes, her amber eyes wide. "Hello." She swallowed.

"Why is she here?"

"She told me she was here to find her brother." Birchmuzzle explained.

"His name is Thorn." Maple added on."

"Isn't that the ScarClan medicine cat's name?" Risingice looked at Birchmuzzle.

"Oh wait, yeah! And weren't they born outside of the Clans?"

"Thorn's here?" Maple's ears perked up. "I need to find him."

"Thornhaze is your brother?" Risingice asked, still a bit skeptical about the entire thing.

"He might be." Maple's tail was going back and forth.

"We should go talk to him!" Birchmuzzle exclaimed.

"Wait, why are we helping her?" Risingice asked. However, Birchmuzzle and Maple didn't seem to hear.

"What are we waiting for?" Maple was practically bouncing. "Let's go!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The gathering felt so different now that Roseburst was confined to camp with the kits. Cedarheart barely felt like himself without his mate by his side. But he knew that she couldn't leave the kits alone.

He smiled, remembering how Sunrisekit had held onto his tail until the last second, and Webkit climbed on his back, thinking that if Cedarheart couldn't see him, he would be able to come.

He somewhat wished he played along with his son's game, because he felt alone as he watched the leaders chatter among themselves on the leopard rock.

His bored eyes wandered over the medicine cats, to where Thornhaze was trying to calm down an excited small white cat. _That must be Bubbleki- Bubblepaw._

He remembered Jaystar saying that Cloudstream gave birth to a mute she-cat and a kit without a gender.

What interested him was that Bubblepaw was moving her tail in all different directions that wasn't just normal tail swishing. _Is there something else wrong with her?_

"Cats of the Clans!" Earthstar yowled, silencing the clearing and prying Cedarheart's eyes away from Bubblepaw and Thornhaze.

"All is normal in MarshClan." The old tom continued. "Prey is starting to come back, and the fresh-kill pile is stocked normally."

"We have two new apprentices in DustClan." Jaystar meowed after Earthstar stepped down. "Zigpaw has been apprenticed to Rubblenight and Bubblepaw to Thornhaze. When she is fully trained," The ginger tom turned to Strikestar, "Your medicine cat can go home."

Cedarheart watched Thornhaze's tail swish in happiness, but he wasn't sure what to feel himself. He and his brother didn't leave each other on good terms when he was called to help Cloudstream give birth to her kits. And it was mainly Cedarheart's fault. _He was just trying to keep me from the sadness of being the son of a murderer. He was trying to protect me._ Cedarheart thought pitifully.

He was so deep in his pit of thoughts that he didn't hear the rest of the announcements made by the leaders, but he was pulled out when a cat yowled:

"We're _dying_ and you all aren't doing anything about it!"

The ScarClan warrior's head spun towards the SunClan cats, and he realized that it was Quiet Leaf, one of the Clan's senior warriors, who had yelled.

"How were we supposed to know?!" Midnightfall of MarshClan cried back. "You've been hiding this from all of us. Maybe if you told us earlier, we would've been able to save you."

"Calm down!" Stormstar hissed at both she-cats from his spot on the rock. "SunClan can deal with this problem ourselves." He growled at Sky's Breeze between his teeth.

_What did he do?_

"What happened?" Cedarheart turned to the nearest cat, who happened to be Deerbranch of DustClan.

"Sky's Breeze just interrupted Stormstar and said that SunClan was dying or something like that." The tortoiseshell she-cat answered, before turning away from him and walking back to her Clan.

_SunClan's dying?_

"Come on." Duckwing nudged the younger warrior and leaped out of the crater. Cedarheart's eyes followed him, and soon his body. Before he knew it, he was back in ScarClan's camp.

_That was fast._

"What was all that about?" Apparently Alderfern was as confused as Cedarheart had been. The ginger warrior glanced at Strikestar, who was staring at the ground in concentration.

"Sky's Breeze told everyone that SunClan was fighting a deadly sickness, and that most of their warriors had died."

"Why aren't we helping them?" Alderfern retorted.

"I know Stormstar and he's a proud cat." Strikestar's gaze turned upwards, to his father. "Did you see the way he talked to Sky's Breeze at the end? He obviously doesn't want help."

"A Clan is in _danger." _Alderfern meowed firmly. "I remember when I was an apprentice, and Blizzardstripe would tell me over and over again that we were better than the old Clans because the new Warrior Code said that Clans should help each other like they help their own Clanmates. And I believe I told you that when you were a kit, too."

Cedarheart swallowed, walking away from the bickering toms. He found his way to the nursery, squeezing between the vines that covered the entrance. "Hello."

"Cedarheart!" Sunrisekit leaped up from her spot in the nest, pawing at her father's leg. "Did you go to the gathering?"

"Yes." He bent down, licking the she-kit between the ears. "It was quite eventful." He glanced at Roseburst with those words, who was watching them.

"I wanna come next time." Sunrisekit squealed. "It sounds like fun."

"We're three moons old." Acornkit called from the nest. "Get your head out of the clouds."

"That's not very nice." Roseburst chimed in, lifting her head. She turned to Sunrisekit. "But your brother does have a point, you'll be able to go when you're six moons old."

"But that's so far away!" Webkit cried next to Acornkit. "I don't wanna wait!"

"You'll have to." Cedarheart bent down and grabbed Sunrisekit's scruff. "It will come faster than you think, I promise." He dropped her next to her siblings.

"Fine." Sunrisekit turned towards Roseburst and buried her face in her mother's chest.

"Get some sleep, all four of you." Cedarheart licked each one of them on the muzzle in turn. "I love you."

Slowly, he left the nursery and, sighing, made his way towards the warriors' den and his comfy nest.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Thornhaze isn't Maple's sister." Earthstar rolled his eyes, as if it was the most absurd idea in the world. "Him and Cedarheart are Lizardtuft's kits."

"Who's Lizardtuft?" Birchmuzzle asked. "Was she a ScarClan warrior?"

"Yes. She disappeared after Hollyflame and Brambleblaze died in a fire. Seven moons later two kits went wandering into her Clan's territory."

"I remember hearing about the fire." Risingice looked down. She had been six moons old but still a kit, and heard the gathering patrol come back with the horrible news. "It sounded horrible."

"It was." Earthstar bowed his head.

Risingice looked to Maple, who was oddly still. When she noticed the warrior looking at her, she opened her mouth.

"I knew Lizardtuft. She came to the city to find a lost Clanmate, along with some other Clan cats. I didn't know she had kits, or that Hollyflame and Brambleblaze died."

"I'm sorry." Risingice put her tail around the she-cat. "It must be hard to hear this."

"I was a kit." Maple looked at the pine-needle-covered ground. "I really liked them."

"Wait." Birchmuzzle said, completely changing the mood of the conversation. Risingice flicked her tail in frustration. "So who's Thornhaze's father?"

"Nobody ever knew, including Thronhaze and Cedarheart." Earthstar answered, shaking his head. "Lizardtuft is the only cat who knows, and I think she'll be the only one who ever knows."

Maple tensed under Risingice's tail. "So where's Thorn?" She asked.

"I've never met your brother in my life." Earthstar's eyes were thoughtful. "I know he's not in the Clans."

"Oh, okay." She stood up. "I better get going, then."

"Why?" Birchmuzzle asked. "You can stay here!"

"I told my parents that I'd come home." Maple's eyes were fixed on the camp's exit. "Maybe I'll come back after that. I don't know."

"Alright." Risingice's tail returned to the ground. "Take care of yourself."

"Bye." Birchmuzzle whispered as Maple started to run.

# # #

"Risingice, you're on dawn patrol tomorrow." Midnightfall told her daughter as she came out of Earthstar's den. "Be ready."

"Alright." Risingice dipped her head to the Clan deputy, and padded to the warriors' den. She wanted to yowl in frustration. She had already lost sleep from Birchmuzzle waking her up every morning with questions about their father.

_Did she not hear that Thornhaze and Cedarheart don't know who their father is either? Maybe she should go talk to them._

As Risingice curled up into her corner that she had dug out herself, other warriors started to come in for the night. She watched them as they settled into their moss, envying that they got full nights of sleep and not her.

After the den had gone quiet, with the exception of Tricklepaws's murmuring like he did every night, Risingice finally closed her eyes.

She opened them expecting to be greeted with dawn light, but instead the darkness of night, with the exception of the waning moon above. _Huh._

Risingice stood up as quietly as she could, making sure to not disturb the warriors lying on either side of her.

Suddenly, heavy breathing started from somewhere in the den. The she-cat froze midstep, frantically looking around until her eyes laid on Tricklepaws. The tom shook in his nest.

_Oh._ Risingice snorted. Of course it was Tricklepaws. _Why did I get so scared?_ She scolded herself as she made her way past rows of sleeping warriors towards the tunnel.

"Risingice." A paw grazed the back of her leg as she was walking, making her stop again. Se looked to where the touch had come from, and saw the gray tom behind her. _What?_ She stared at him. _How did he get up so fast?_

"Are you okay?" He asked. "You're looking at me like I have three heads."

"I'm okay." She shook her head, as if to shake out her thoughts. "Are you?"

"I had a dream." He whispered. The two were still standing in the middle of the warriors' den, and Risingice prayed to StarClan that nobody heard them. "I was in SunClan camp. They were having a vigil. There was a black tom, and a gray she-cat in the middle."

"Did the she-cat have long ears?" Risingice asked, realizing with a jolt that Moor Frost had died.

"Yeah."

She closed her eyes, looking up at the roof of the den. "She's SunClan's deputy. You know her."

"No I don't." Before Risingice could ask how he didn't know who Moor Frost was the tom continued. "The black cat, Badger's Claws. Stormstar's kit."

"Okay, okay." Risingice stared back into Tricklepaws's eyes. "How do you know who Badger's Claws is and not Moor Frost?"

"I-"

"Can you guys shut up?" Midnightfall growled from her nest right next to them. "If you haven't noticed, the rest of us exist."

Risingice snorted at her mother. They had always had a relationship where they would constantly insult each other, but today the black-and-white she-cat wasn't having it. "We're in the middle of a conversation that could potentially be very important." But Midnightfall was already back asleep.

Risingice turned back to Tricklepaws. "You should tell the medicine cat."

Tricklepaws didn't respond. He just looked down at the floor. After a few moments, he spoke. "Quiet Leaf was right. SunClan is dying. We need to help them, whether they like it or not."


End file.
